Vehicles for transporting animals are known. An animal transportation vehicle may include any single or combination of vehicles adapted to transport animals. For example, an animal transportation vehicle may include a motorized, unitary vehicle having an area for transporting one or more animals. An animal transportation vehicle may also include a non-motorized trailer assembly adapted to be selectively attached and pulled behind a motorized vehicle, such as a truck, farm tractor or road tractor.
Generally, these animal transportation vehicles include walls surrounding the perimeter of the vehicle connected to a roof. The walls and roof enclose the transportation vehicle to confine the animals during transportation.
Often the walls of an animal transportation vehicle include one or more openings to the environment outside of the vehicle. The openings may take the form of one or more holes, slats, or other suitable shape. The openings provide access to the enclosed animals and a source of ventilation during transportation. Further, during periods of higher temperature weather conditions, the openings provide airflow, resulting in a cooling source to maintain the body temperatures of animals during transportation.
However, during periods of lower temperature or adverse weather conditions, the openings may become detrimental to the well-being of the animals during transportation. Cold air and/or precipitation may penetrate into the animal transportation vehicle. The resulting exposure may adversely effect animal comfort and can lead to cold-related injuries, including, but not limited to, frostbite, hypothermia, or death.
There are currently few devices available to block or cover the one or more openings in the animal transportation vehicle. Further, each option includes undesirable secondary effects.
For example, one available option is to install plugs into each of the openings in the animal transportation vehicle. However, plugs are time consuming to install, as each individual opening must receive a plug and each vehicle often includes hundreds of openings. In addition, plugs include surfaces that can accumulate saliva, feces or other biological materials emitted from animals. The materials may include bacteria, infectious agents, disease, or other maladies which can be transmitted between animals and geographic locations. Further, plugs are not easy to clean. Each plug must be individually removed from the corresponding opening and individually treated or cleaned. Accordingly, plugs can pose a biological security risk to healthy animals transported and subsequently exposed to the contaminated biological material. For example, biological security is especially important when transporting food source animals, such as livestock. Biological contamination can lead to infection of consumers of the animals, including humans.
Another available option is to attach or install one or more corrugated sheets onto the animal transportation vehicle to cover one or more of the openings. The corrugated sheets may be made of plastic, metal or other suitable material. However, the corrugations form one or more uneven surfaces or open profiles where biological material can accumulate, posing a biological security risk to animals or animal consumers.
Another existing option available to cover the openings of an animal transportation vehicle is to attach or install one or more solid sheets to the animal transportation vehicle. The solid sheets may be made of plastic, metal or other suitable material. However, solids sheets which have the necessary thickness to functionally block the openings in the animal transportation vehicle add a significant amount of weight to the animal transportation vehicle. In turn, the animal transportation vehicle be forced to reduce the number of animals on the vehicle to meet transportation weight restrictions. The additional weight can also lead to additional hazards to the vehicle driver, animals or surrounding motorists during transportation due to increased breaking distance, reduced vehicle handling or other adverse effects caused from a heavy or overweight vehicle. In addition, the animal transportation vehicle may qualify as an oversize or overweight load, which may result in transportation restrictions including, but not limited to, special licensing, lights or signals on the vehicle, and/or pilot and trailing vehicles. Further, the solid sheets are often flexible or malleable, leading to difficulties handling and securing the sheets during attachment on the vehicle.
Accordingly, a device that can cover one or more openings on an animal transportation vehicle which is fast and easy to install is provided. Further, the device may be biologically secure by not having a surface which can accumulate biological material. In addition, the device may be easy to clean. Further, the device may be light in weight, yet has sufficient rigidity to provide for easy handling of the device.